FC Barcelona News: 6 April 2019

PREVIEW: FC Barcelona v Atlético Madrid | FC Barcelona
It’s the game of the season as far as La Liga is concerned, as first plays second in a titanic tussle at the Camp Nou. Barça will go 11 points clear should they win, but Atléti will get to within five points of the Blaugrana if they’re able to depart Catalonia as the victors.

The squad to face Atlético Madrid | FC Barcelona
Ernesto Valverde has named his squad for the top-of-the-table clash with Atlético Madrid this Saturday at 8.45pm CET. It reads as follows: Ter Stegen, N. Semedo, Piqué, I. Rakitic, Sergio, Coutinho, Arthur, Suárez, Messi, Cillessen, Malcom, Lenglet, Murillo, Jordi Alba, Prince, S. Roberto, Aleñá and Umtiti.

Here is Atlético Madrid’s squad list for the match against Barça | Sport
The biggest surprise is the inclusion of both Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata who were doubts for the game. Diego Costa has been suffering from discomfort since the match against Alaves las week whereas Morata picked up a sprained ankle. Both have been given the green light to play this evening.

Bartomeu on life with Messi... and after Messi | FC Barcelona
“We would like Leo Messi to renew his contract, that’s the idea. He is young, you can see that, and he still has two years on his deal. He’s always improving, always innovating. I believe he still has many years in front of him and in the coming months we will sit down with him so that he has many more years at Barcelona.”

Neymar regrets Barcelona exit more than anybody - Adriano | Goal
Neymar regrets his decision to leave Barcelona, says former Camp Nou team-mate and fellow Brazilian Adriano. Back in the summer of 2017, a global superstar decided the time was right to take on a new challenge.

Rafinha kick-starts charity work on Children’s Day | Marca
Despite being on the sidelines through injury, Rafinha has kickstarted a charity project which centres around Children’s Day on April 15. The Brazilian midfielder is calling for a collection of toys to deliver to underprivileged and unwell children.

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Barça vs Atleti: LIVE BLOG!

Join us to follow and comment all the action from the biggest La Liga game of the season!

WELCOME TO CAMP NOU!!! The Greatest Stadium on Earth is the site of the biggest La Liga game of the season tonight as leaders Barcelona face second-place Atlético Madrid. Atleti really need to win to cut Barça’s lead to five points and put real pressure on the defending champions with seven matches left after this, while Barça can pretty much clinch the championship with a victory and an 11-point gap at the top of the table. This is a giant match, and you cannot miss it. You can also join us to follow and comment all the action. LET’S LIVE BLOG!

(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)

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MATCH INFO

Competition/Round: 2018-19 La Liga, Matchday 31

Date/Time: Saturday, April 6, 2019, 8.45pm CET (Barcelona), 7.45pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 2.45pm ET, 11.45am PT (USA), 12.15am IST (India, Sunday)

Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano

HOW TO WATCH, STREAM LA LIGA

How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), Eleven Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport 7 (Nigeria), Movistar Partidazo (Spain), others

How to stream: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA & Canada), Movistar+ (Spain), fuboTV (watch for free), others

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Matchday Thread Rules

We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:

Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, no swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.

Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!

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Barça squad named for Atleti

Ernesto Valverde has called up 18 players for Saturday’s big game

The next Barcelona match is upon us! The Blaugrana welcome Atlético Madrid to Camp Nou for the biggest game of the La Liga season, and Ernesto Valverde has called up the following 18 players to be in uniform on Saturday:

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Goalkeepers: 1. Marc-André ter Stegen, 13. Jasper Cillessen

Defenders: 2. Nélson Semedo, 3. Gerard Piqué, 15. Clément Lenglet, 17. Jeison Murillo, 18. Jordi Alba, 23. Samuel Umtiti

Midfielders: 4. Ivan Rakitic, 5. Sergio Busquets, 7. Philippe Coutinho, 8. Arthur, 20. Sergi Roberto, 21. Carles Aleñá

Forwards: 9. Luis Suárez, 10. Lionel Messi, 14. Malcom, 19. Kevin-Prince Boateng

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The only key player missing from the squad for this one is Arturo Vidal, who is suspended for yellow card accumulation. Jasper Cillessen is back after missing two games through injury. Ousmane Dembélé (hamstring) and Rafinha (knee) can’t play due to injury, while Jean-Clair Todibo and Thomas Vermaelen miss out per the manager’s decision and will watch from the stands.

Predicted starting XI (4-3-3):

Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Arthur; Messi, Suárez, Malcom

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The match kicks off at 8.45pm CET (Barcelona), 7.45pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 2.45pm ET, 11.45am PT (USA), 12.15am IST (India, Sunday), and you can join us to follow and comment all the action with our live blog.

VISCA EL BARÇA!

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Barça vs Atleti: Preview

The biggest La Liga game of the season is here. A Barcelona win ends the title race. A victory for Atlético sets the league on fire. This will be fun.

FC Barcelona (1st, 70pts) vs Atlético Madrid (2nd, 62pts)

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Competition/Round: 2018-19 La Liga, Matchday 31

Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Arturo Vidal, Ousmane Dembélé, Rafinha, Thomas Vermaelen, Jean-Clair Todibo (out)

Atlético Outs & Doubts: Lucas Hernández, Thomas Lemar, Álvaro Morata (out), Diego Costa (doubt)

Date/Time: Saturday, April 6, 2019, 8.45pm CET (Barcelona), 7.45pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 2.45pm ET, 11.45am PT (USA), 12.15am IST (India, Sunday)

Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)

How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), Eleven Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport 7 (Nigeria), Movistar Partidazo (Spain), others

How to stream: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA & Canada), Movistar+ (Spain), fuboTV (watch for free), others

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Welcome to the biggest La Liga game of the season. The scenario is simple: Barcelona enter this one eight points ahead of Atlético Madrid. If they win, they’ll be 11 points clear with seven games and a very nice schedule left, which means the title will be pretty much guaranteed; if Atlético win, they’ll be five points behind Barça, and although the Blaugrana have that nice schedule they’ll be under pressure to not drop any more points while also facing Manchester United and potentially Liverpool in the Champions League.

Diego Simeone simply can’t beat Barça in La Liga, and even when they won the league at Camp Nou in 2014 it was only a draw. Cholo and his boys are desperate for a victory, and if they finally get it this weekend it might be the start of an amazing title race. Barça have dominated the league all season, but if the Atleti defense is as good as it can be and Antoine Griezmann can have a magical night at the Greatest Stadium on Earth, then things get really interesting.

Despite the trip to Old Trafford in just four days, Ernesto Valverde will not rest anybody in this one. He already did it against Villarreal, and it nearly ended in disaster which would make this Atlético game even bigger. It’ll be an extremely tough game, and Atlético winning is completely possible. But Barça understand just how big a win is, and they’ll try to be at their best. If they are, we can start the title celebration seven games early.

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POSSIBLE LINEUPS

Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Arthur; Messi, Suárez, Malcom

Atlético (4-4-2): Oblak; Arias, Giménez, Godín, Filipe Luís; Saúl, Partey, Rodrigo, Koke; Griezmann, Diego Costa

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PREDICTION

I just can’t see either team winning this one. A lot of people might not think this is too important, but it is to the teams and coaches, and the game will reflect that: 1-1 draw, lots of fouls, not a lot of fun.

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Valverde talks Griezmann, Dembele and Umtiti

The latest from the Barcelona boss

Ernesto Valverde has been talking ahead of Saturday’s crunch La Liga clash with second-placed Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou.

The Barcelona boss told fans to lay off Antoine Griezmann, said Ousmane Dembele wouldn’t be ready for the match and also spoke about Samuel Umtiti and Arturo Vidal.

Here are the best bits:

Valverde on Griezmann

I want the fans to pay attention to us, not the opposition and support us. I don’t like when we go to other grounds and get booed, it’s like fans give more importance to the opposition than their own side, we want the opposite.

Every player is free to decide over their future, just like the clubs can decide who they keep. Everyone is free to take their decisions and it’s just another game for us. Griezmann is a great player so we’ll take care, but nothing more than that.

Valverde on Dembele

Dembele will not be with us. We’ll see if he is for Wednesday. The Champions League game at Old Trafford won’t influence my team for Saturday.

Valverde on Arturo Vidal

It would have been great for us to have Arturo Vidal for the game against Atletico Madrid. It’s a handicap not to have him because we lose out on energy and character.

Valverde on Samuel Umtiti

Umtiti has been on the sidelines for a long time because of his injury. Now he has to integrate and adapt to the group again.

Valverde on Atletico Madrid

The three points are important for both teams. We would set up a big lead for the remaining games, and they would be able to close the gap. Atletico create deep pressure. Their players are good at finding space, and they also have great shot takers.

Valverde on Alvaro Morata

He was talked about as a target here, like many others players. But now he plays for Atletico The role he was going to have here as a second striker isn’t the same as at Atletico, so every player has to think about what he wants. It’s speculation.

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Valverde is doing ‘incredible work’ at Barca, says Simeone

He also talked about the ‘pure quality’ of Lionel Messi

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has been talking about Lionel Messi and Ernesto Valverde ahead of Saturday’s clash at the Camp Nou.

Los Colchoneros head into the game eight points behind Barcelona with eight games left to play, and Simeone was asked about what he thought about Messi before going on to talk about his opposite number.

“The word isn’t ‘fear’, but respect,” he said, regarding the GOAT.

“There is a seniority Barcelona have, and what I would call the incredible work the coach is doing, keeping them alive in three competitions.

”Last season, they went through in Rome what happened to us in Turin [when Atleti lost 3-0 to Juventus], and they couldn’t win everything, but they tried for the treble.

”Now, they have an enviable position in the league, in the Champions League... it’s difficult to be a team like that and keep winning. Valverde, with his style of play, is having an amazing season.”

Source | Yahoo Sports

Simeone has famously never beaten Barcelona in La Liga as Atletico coach, but he’ll know that victory on Saturday will cut the gap to five points and pile the pressure on the champions.

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Bartomeu ‘knows what will happen’ with De Ligt

The Ajax captain is a wanted man

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says he knows what will happen with Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt in the summer transfer window.

The centre-back has been linked with several top clubs including Barcelona and Juventus, and Bartomeu admitted he was a big fan of the 19-year-old.

“There will be time to speak about him. Each year the club has an interest in making signings and this summer will be the same. De Ligt, like the other best players, is on the table.

”He is a great player and a great centre-back. I know what will happen with him but it’s not the moment [to talk].”

Source | ESPN

De Ligt has said recently he hasn’t made up his mind about his future yet, so it looks like we might have to wait a little while to find out where he’ll be playing next season.

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